The operation of recent computer application programs, electronic products, and AV devices is increasingly complicated together with the implementation of various functions thereof. This makes operation support important for users who do not know how to operate them. For users who do not know how to achieve a target function, a manual may be provided so that they can find out how to operate the target function by themselves. However, finding the target function using the manual is burdensome and time-consuming for the users. To address this circumstance, there is a technique in which a system infers the user's target function when a user makes a support request, using records of the user's operations performed through a trial-and-error process before the support request has been made. Providing operation support based on the result of the inference enables provision of operation support which is less burdensome for the users.
As described, a technique is proposed for supporting the user's operations based on the user's operation records. For example, there is a help display apparatus which searches for a function highly related to key operation inputs that the user has performed through a trial-and-error process, and presents operating instructions regarding that function (see Patent Literature 1, for example).
This help display apparatus infers the target function using records of operations that the user has performed until just before making an operation support request. This is based on an assumption that the user performs operations related to the target function until just before making the operation support request.